There is much talk about elections procedure in the country, but the greatest achievement would be to address how elections can be bought before they are even called, writes Amin Howeidi* The ballot box is a wondrous thing that reminds me sometimes of the rubbish bin. It gathers all kinds of discarded paper, some written in earnest and others coming from who knows from where. This box is supposed to determine the fate of the nation and yet we're not so sure we can trust it. Ballot boxes come in many shapes and forms. Some are made of wood while others have glass windows. Most are vulnerable to fraud in the wrong hands. We've been worried about increasing the turnout at the polls, which stands at 25 per cent and is admittedly a major problem. But it is not the only problem. For example, we should be worried that voters may be casting their ballots for the wrong candidates. Perhaps we should focus more on educating voters and helping them choose the best candidates. Then there is the recurring problem of guarding the boxes. In this country, we all know that fraud is possible, if not likely. This is why authorities spend so much time and effort focussing on how to guard the ballot boxes. But who is to guard them? According to the letter of the law, security services should be in charge of protecting ballot boxes. But recently they weren't allowed to do so, although they still guard polling stations from the outside. In some cases, it has been said, the police obstructed voters from getting to polling stations in time. There has been extensive debate over who should guard our ballot boxes, and one solution was to give the judiciary this thorny task. There is one catch, however. The number of judges is short of that needed to man 30,000 or more polling stations. So what do we do? I don't see why we're so obsessed with the judiciary. First of all, judges have better things to do with their time, like, for example, settling legal disputes. The way I see it is that judges are too valuable to use them as sentries for ballot boxes. So why are some people still insisting that the judiciary is the only branch to be trusted with monitoring elections? It is obvious that we trust the judges. We trust their integrity and probity. But there are many others that we can trust in this country -- university professors, for example, teachers or lawyers. There is always the bad apple, but this happens in every profession and the judiciary is no exception. We do have an Ombudsman Office at the Justice Ministry, and believe me it has its hands full of grievances and complaints. We have a multi-tier court system in this country, and the reason for that is that judges make mistakes. They err all the time, because they're human, and because not all of them are incorruptible. There are even feuds in the ranks of the judiciary. Look at how the battle that erupted between the justice minister and some senior judges following the minister's recent remarks at the Shura Council. And look at the judges who accused colleagues of wrongdoing during the recent elections. Judges are only human. They can be assaulted and intimidated just as anyone else. I would say let's keep the judges away from the political foray. They have enough on their plate and they don't need the extra grievances. It is never helpful to give one man more than one job. I recall when Field Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer was given immense civilian powers during the 1960s. What happened back then? As you may know, we lost a major war and failed to get much else done. Let's learn from our mistakes. Furthermore, why focus so much on the polling station and forget about the transgressions happening outside it? Why do we pay no attention to vote- buying and other irregularities? We all know that the rich and powerful have been buying votes to get into elected office and use their immunity to amass more riches and power. This is something that we need to pay more attention to, if we're really worried about the probity of elections. Unless we stop irregularities outside the polling station, no amount of monitoring elections would help. Even before polling stations open their doors, the outcome of the elections may have been rigged already. So let's give this problem more thought. As for the question of protecting the ballots, let me offer you a simple solution. Let the candidates themselves guard the boxes. Let every candidate send a representative and let those people keep their eyes on the box. This would save us much bickering and money and keep everyone happy. * The writer is former minister of defence and chief of General Intelligence.
